Finally, the shift from apology to accountability clarifies responsibility. Morrison’s Nobel Lecture (1993) warns that language can both imprison and liberate; builders of words and worlds must answer for their materials. To be unapologetic is not to be unexamined. It is to move with intention, accept critique, and revise the structure rather than retreat from the project.
In practice, begin where you stand by naming your constraints and your stakes. Build without apology by documenting choices, inviting rigorous feedback, and keeping faith with the communities your work touches. Permission is not requested; it is demonstrated through care. [...]
